.44 Bullets for 1858 Remington New Army revolver

[mk434]

Does anyone know the best place on the internet to get bullets for this revolver, thanks.

 

[Ohio Joe]

Have you tried, Dixie Gun Works? They use to have them made, though the quality was never very good. Why not just use the round ball. They don't upset when loading, and probably perform better than a bullet for accuracy. Don't know for sure what new stuff is out there?

 

[mk434]

Im sorry, I should have specified. I meant the round balls when I said bullets.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Midsouth Shooters Supply will have Hornady swaged balls - as low a price as any I would figure. You'll have to make sure you get the proper size - I don't have a .44 revolver but I believe it is .451 or .454"??


.454" Round Balls - $6.02/c

 

[madstone]

An old catalogue lists 3 different "balls" for the remington revolver. They range from .451 to .457! If I remember right, and I seldom do any more, the proper size will leave a "shaved" ring as it is seated in the cyl. The groove on some is 458 but a little experimentation is in order. By the way a Ruger BP revolver has an excellent mold in .456 "bullet". Might be too heavy, though for a Rem? :results:

 

[Ohio Joe]

I think if a person uses the .454 round ball, your pretty much covered with the exception of using them in a Ruger which requires the .457.

You do want to shave a ring of lead when loading. This is the way I've always understood and do... Have never had a chain'fire of the cylinder...

If you can let us know what make the revolver is I can look in my Dixie Catalog and see what they recommend?

 

[gordy]

mk434:As others have said ,Your revolver will take .451 or .454 round balls.I'd buy some of ea. and try them . The 451 may not be tight enough to cut a decent lead ring.Anyway,find the size that works best and order a Lee mold in that size For about$25.00.If You do much shooting it don't take long to pay for the mold and You might find casting ball a pleasent pastime.There are many of us here that will guide You through the proceedure.Let us know how it works out,and have fun! :relax:

 

[madstone]

Don't you still cover the ends of the loaded cylinder with "lard" even though the lead shaved? I know little and always did it because my "grandaddy" said so. I defer to you guys experience, though and will grease them just for tradition.
Ive seen and used an old oversized spoon and chunks of pig lead&pipe to run balls in a handmade brass mold. ( I still have a 50 homemade mould some nut soldered wire pliars to it!) He'd lost the cherry" to cut a new one, the owner said.
Didn't the old folks' guns come with a "cherry" to cut a new mold of soapstone? :huh: Moulding your own balls is part of the "drill" for a ML but the 'factory balls are very consistent today. It is fun and a chance to spend time alone in a well ventilated area and save money! The least prize at early rifle shoots was to get all the spent lead. I really believe "barking" a squirell was thought up to save the ball! ("Hold it, Jim, wait'll he gets agin thet tree!") The "Stumpkiller" is a very wise fellow! He gets to save all his lead! I used to 'recycle" my lead and had a rifle that could fire as little a 7 grains of powder! Is that 1000 shots/lb? (I never wuz to good wit numbers.) With free lead the squirells were practically free!

 

[brushbuster]

I have a the same model that was built by Pietta.
mine could shoot.451 or .454 round ball.
I got better accuracy with a.454and 30gr of fffg powder.
I also have a conversion cyl.chamberd for 45 colt, however,
it shaves lead when I use this cylendar.

 

[Stumpkiller]

The "Stumpkiller" is a very wise fellow! He gets to save all his lead!

There's some truth there. I go so far as to practice with my metal detector behind my small range.

I read an account somewhere of a "Golden Age" beef shoot. The targets were charred shakes with an "X" gouged in and then tacked to a tree. One of the prizes was the lead left in the tree after the match.

 

[madstone]

Brushbuster,
That's a different kinda' lead shavin' isn't it! I will always carry some of this kind of lead in one hand. Does the 45 LC use plackpowder? The old 45LC was a .454, before WWll? I always wanted a "Thuer conversion " of the 1860. It was very handsome but open top. There was a fellow trying to reproduce these, at NMLRA friendship. Years ago and I don't know if he ever "made it".

 

I have three Pietta's in .44, all three take the .451 and will accept the .454.
I see no difference in accuracy at all.
Not all revolvers will 'shave' a lead ring. My colt Pietta copy has champhered (beveled) leading edges (I did it with a tool)and no lead is shaved. It also makes loading easier.
I use a was between bullet and powder and cover the ball with Crisco or better yet, Stumpkillers famous lube.
Chain fires mostly likely originate from the NIPPLE end of the cylinder anyway. I like to lube the bullets as it prevents leading the barrel and prevents the cylinder from binding with fouling.
Ditto Midsouth for prices.
www.midsouthshooterssupply.com
Ask for a catalog. Best prices around on lots of shooting supplies including black powder rifles and pistols.

 

[Ohio Joe]

[Chain fires mostly likely originate from the NIPPLE end of the cylinder]

Your right Maxi! :agree: I had a brain lapse... I still like to shave a ring of lead when I load. To me, this tells me my ball is seated snug in each chamber.

I have read where target shooter's will enlarge the mouth of each chamber so as not to deform the ball on loading. I can see where the loading of chambers with this done to a cylinder would make it easier to load.

 

[Zonie]

I have read where target shooter's will enlarge the mouth of each chamber so as not to deform the ball on loading. I can see where the loading of chambers with this done to a cylinder would make it easier to load.

One of the reasons the cylinder bores are enlarged on target guns, is because many of the Reproduction guns have a barrel groove diameter which is larger than the chamber diameter.
If the ball is shaved smaller than the berrel groove diameter during loading, it makes for a very inaccurate gun.

A word of caution about enlarging the cylinder bores though. With the .44 caliber guns, there is very little material creating the wall there to start with. If a person removes much material from the chambers at the mouth, they could make their gun dangerous to shoot.
The .36's I own have quite a lot of wall in this location so they are most likely not a problem. :results:

 

[Gatofeo]

Don't bother with .451 inch balls. Get the .454 balls. I think you'll find them more accurate and they will certainly seal much better.
I've given up on .451 inch balls. The .454 balls ensure that I have a good seal and, because swaging them into the chamber creates a wider bearing surface for the rifling to grip, they seem more accurate.
You may also use .457 inch balls in your Remington repro, though the .457 ball is intended for the Ruger Old Army. You won't hurt a thing by using .457 inch balls, but you will find it more difficult to seat the ball, so ensure you leave ample room for it to be seated flush.
For a great deal of information, scroll down to my earlier post, "How to Best Use a Cap and Ball Revolver." You'll find much of what you need to know in that post, based on 35 years of shooting cap and ball revolvers.

 

[ValleyForge]

The .451s work great with mine. Sometimes I actually hit things with it. Sometimes it what I pointed at.